


Through the Curse

by OfTheAshTree62



Category: Bleach
Genre: Feelings Realization, Fluff, Friendship, Friendship/Love, M/M, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:22:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27783688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OfTheAshTree62/pseuds/OfTheAshTree62
Summary: Jushiro Ukitake had been keeping something from his best friend, fearing that it would drive him away. But when his secret comes to the surface unexpectedly, he realizes that Shunsui is more committed to him than he could have ever guessed.
Relationships: Kyouraku Shunsui/Ukitake Juushirou
Comments: 8
Kudos: 54
Collections: The Seireitei Server Holidays Gift Exchange 2020





	Through the Curse

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Chaotic_Dreamer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chaotic_Dreamer/gifts).



“Jushiro Ukitake.”

“Shunsui Kyoraku.”

It was a standard enough introduction. A polite bow to one another accompanied their names, and that was it. At least, it was until they realized they would be spending a good deal of time  together, sharing many of their classes at the Academy. The stilted, formal introduction became a distant memory  over the next year, during which they became inseparable . They ate together, studied together, and spent every moment in between  in each other’s presence.

“You know, Jushiro, I bet my lady friends are wondering where I’ve gone with all the time I’ve been spending with you,” Shunsui teased one evening. Jushiro laughed and looked out over the Academy grounds from their vantage point on the roof of the barracks. 

“I was under the impression that you didn’t actually  _ have  _ lady friends. Just women you pestered until they agreed to have a drink with you,” Jushiro pointed out. Shunsui laid back on the tiles and folded his hands behind his head.

“Yeah, and I bet they’re missing all the pestering,” he said with a wink. Jushiro couldn’t help but laugh again, and Shunsui smiled in return. It was all he lived for recently. Making that man laugh. He was beginning to think perhaps he considered Jushiro more than just his best friend. But that would certainly be odd. He had never considered a romantic relationship with a man. Still, what else could make him abandon his pastime of coercing women to come to his quarters for a drink? Perhaps Jushiro was just so virtuous that it was rubbing off on him. Surely not. 

“So, what does the weekend have in store for us, Shunsui?” Jushiro asked suddenly. The sun was dipping further toward the horizon, painting the puffy clouds vibrant shades of orange and red.  Soon, they would be expected inside for lights out.

“Hmm… We’ll have another picnic at your family’s estate , and then you know your brothers and sisters will want us to stay for the day. The next day, surely we’ll need to sleep off all that excitement,”  Shunsui suggested. Jushiro nodded, throwing  the brunette a smile. 

“Perhaps  _ you _ will. I’ll need to find a way to occupy myself. Shouldn’t we make time to train for the Kido exam we have next week?”  he inquired. He expected the scoff that came from next to him. 

“I can do those spells with my eyes shut, and so can you. I don’t know why you stress about training so much,” Shunsui replied. Jushiro only smiled and shook his head, his hair brushing the collar of his Academy uniform with the motion. He didn’t respond. Even after a year, Shunsui didn’t know his biggest secret. The reason he could never let his strength wane, because the minute he slacked on his training  _ could  _ be the day he died. 

* * *

The next day, Jushiro prepared a meal in the kitchen in the Academy commons while  Shunsui laz ed on a nearby table, not lifting a finger. In fact, the white-haired man  assumed he was asleep. Still, as soon as the food was packed away, Shunsui jumped up as though he had been attentive the entire time, causing Jushiro to chuckle as he led the way out of the  building . They walked at an easy pace off of the Academy grounds toward Ugendo, the Ukitake estate.

“Jushiro!” a small voice squealed as soon as they arrived. The young girl stood from her task tending the garden and ran to meet her brother, colliding with him roughly and throwing her arms around his waist. 

“Careful, Akane, my hands are full,” Jushiro chuckled. She giggled and stepped back, taking the blanket from under his arm to ease his burden. 

“I see you don’t care that I’m here, squirt,” Shunsui teased, reaching down to ruffle her short brunette hair. 

“It’s good to see you, too,” she said with a laugh. Shunsui  smiled as she quickly turned to skip into the garden and spread the blanket under their favored tree. When that was done, she ran back inside. 

“I wish I had her energy,” Shunsui commented as they made their way to the picnic blanket. Jushiro shook his head and began to set out the food. 

“If you had her energy, I’m not sure we could spend as much time together. That truly would be exhausting,” he admitted. Shunsui sighed as he settled on the ground, and soon the rest of the Ukitake siblings were trickling in, greeting their brother and Shunsui and complimenting the meal. Shunsui couldn’t help but stare as Jushiro took the praise humbly, waving off their comments and insisting that it was nothing. The man’s generosity was second to none. 

“How are your studies going, Jushiro?” Kazuo, the second oldest of the family, asked as they ate. 

“They’re going well. Our Zanjutsu training is getting a bit more intense. I struggle to keep up sometimes,” he confessed. Jushiro leaned around Akane, who had insisted on sitting in his lap to eat. Her attachment to him was a bit much at times, but he could never refuse her. 

“The instructors are aware of your condition, are they not? Surely, they could take it easy on you,” Yasu, another of his brothers, insisted firmly. Jushiro shook his head.

“That’s certainly not what I want, Yasu. You should know better,” he lightly scolded. Yasu put his plate down before turning to face his oldest brother, his dark eyes expressing both  resolve and a bit of  compassion. 

“We just don’t want to lose you, Jushiro,” he said quietly. 

“That’s enough. I am not speaking of this now,” Jushiro replied, his gaze flicking to Shunsui for a moment. Shunsui caught the glance, and he wondered what exactly they were talking about. If Jushiro’s life was in danger, he figured his best friend would have told him such a thing. 

“We just--”

“Drop it, Yasu,” Hana, the eldest girl, commanded. She placed a hand on Jushiro’s shoulder and gave him a gentle smile. “We won’t talk about it. Let’s just enjoy each other’s company,” she added. Jushiro nodded, noting that Yasu hadn’t picked his plate back up. He would be bitter for the remainder of the day, but that was simply his personality. He was  _ extremely  _ attuned to his oldest brother, but sometimes that meant being outspoken about things that Jushiro would rather keep quiet. The rest of the meal was lighthearted, though Jushiro realized that Shunsui was even quieter than usual. 

Over the course of the day, though, an unnerving shift began to take place in Jushiro’s spirit energy, and it seemed several of his siblings noticed. They threw him concerned glances often, but he always waved them off. Sometimes there were false alarms. And he hoped that this was one of those times. The family was beginning to retire inside, the youngest preparing to go to sleep for the night. Akane hesitated to leave her oldest brother, clinging to his waist when Kazuo tried to pull her inside to get ready for bed.

“I’ll be fine, Akane. Go to bed,” Jushiro assured her, kneeling to briefly hug her and kiss her cheek. She nodded, embracing him forcefully before turning to follow Kazuo.

“Would you like to stay here tonight, Jushiro?” Yasu suggested.  They stood on the deck that extended over the koi pond, leaning over the railing to watch the fish popping at the surface with open mouths. Shunsui stood on Jushiro’s other side, looking across to Yasu at the suggestion. All day, he had been pondering the  family ’s concern. He was sure there was something Jushiro was hiding from him, but he didn’t prod. He knew, if the time came that he needed to know, Jushiro would tell him. 

“No, I’m sure--”

“I’d feel better if you stayed here,” his brother insisted in a low voice. Jushiro sighed resignedly, but the simple action turned into a cough . Yasu gasped and took his arm, supporting him as the episode took over. It was long moments in suspense before Jushiro lowered his sleeve from in front of his mouth. He sighed, his mouth tightening with frustration when he saw the traces of blood on the fabric.

“I suppose I have no choice now,” he muttered, stalking down the deck to the family residence. He avoided his siblings’ eyes as he made his way to his private room , slamming the door behind him and  leaning on the back of it. A knock stopped the tears from reaching his eyes, though he felt them coming. “Leave me, Yasu. If I need something, I will call for you,” he called through the door.

“It’s Shunsui. What’s going on, Jushiro?” the muffled voice inquired. Jushiro’s heart skipped, and then began to unrelentingly pound beneath his ribs. Slowly, he turned and slid the door open. 

“Come in, Shunsui. It seems I have a lot to explain,” he murmured, allowing his friend inside. Shunsui stood against the wall across from the bed, watching intently as Jushiro went to the bed to  sit down. Was he… panting? He seemed short of breath, though he had been fine just hours before. The white-haired man attempted to take a deep breath, which only led to another bout of coughing . At first, Shunsui stood his ground, determined to not let his immense concern show, but when he saw the trickle of blood leaking from the corner of Jushiro’s mouth, he went to him and sat on the bed with him. Not entirely sure how to help, he simply put an arm around his shoulders as an attempt to comfort him.

“Shunsui!” Hana called from the door, bringing the older man’s eyes up to her. She had a change of clothes  hanging over her arm, and her deep brown eyes were brimming with tears. 

“I’m sorry. If I’m overstepping, I’ll go,” he offered. But a harsh grip on his sleeve stopped him when he tensed to stand. He looked down to Jushiro, who was no longer coughing, but still couldn’t seem to catch his breath. 

“Don’t go, Shunsui. I need to tell you what’s going on,” Jushiro rasped, his voice sounding like it was scraping past sandpaper in his throat. 

“Before you do anything, get changed. Kazuo is coming with tea,” Hana insisted, approaching the bed and draping the clothes over the end. She turned, concerned gaze hovering over her brother before flicking to Shunsui . With a small bow, she excused herself. 

“Jushiro,” Shunsui breathed his name, feeling how weak he was under his touch. His energy had been sapped in minutes. 

“There’s something… I haven’t told you,” Jushiro whispered. Shunsui chuckled and tightened his grip on his shoulders. 

“I’d say,” he teased. But his smile dropped instantly when Jushiro struggled to even lift his head to look at him. The glazed-over look he received made chills rise on his arms. “Lie down,” he said quietly, guiding Jushiro down to th e mattress. 

“Thank you. I’m sorry I’ve kept this from you. I have… a condition of sorts. A curse, perhaps? However you identify it, it is something that will never leave me. When I was three years old, I was diagnosed with a lung disease that doctors proclaimed untreatable. I was destined to die,” he began, pausing to clear his throat. Just that was enough for Shunsui’s heart to clench in his chest , and he fought the urge to take the other man’s hand. Just then, though, Kazuo entered with a tea tray. 

“Jushiro, you need to get changed,” he insisted gently, going to his brother and smoothing the hair away from his forehead. 

“I will. Don’t worry about me,” Jushiro assured him. Kazuo smiled and nodded. 

“If he needs help, I’ll be here,” Shunsui added, throwing Kazuo a grin. The boy seemed a bit shocked by the offer, but gave a slow nod before leaving the room. A light chuckle came from the bed, and Shunsui  looked down to his best friend. Already, he looked exhausted. 

“You don’t have to stay on my account,” he insisted. Shunsui smiled. 

“I wouldn’t sleep a wink knowing you’re in this condition anyway,” he replied. Jushiro hummed and shook his head, his eyes barely open. 

“If you keep worrying about me, you’ll never leave,” he joked. Shunsui felt as though he had been punched in the gut when his immediate response crossed his mind , and his eyes went to where Jushiro’s hand was rested on the bed next to him . 

“Maybe I never want to,” he  replied. The comment seemed to fall on deaf ears, and when Jushiro was quiet for several moments, he glanced down to him again. His eyes were closed, his chest rising and  falling in a deep pattern that indicated that he had fallen asleep.  There was evidence of involuntary tears on his cheeks, and Shunsui sighed, his heart falling when he realized the depth of Jushiro’s pain. “ I’m almost glad you didn’t hear me,” Shunsui whispered,  smiling and  lightly patting Jushiro’s hand.

Several of Jushiro’s siblings came to check his condition in the next few hours, but the eldest remained asleep, his sleeve and lips still stained with blood. Shunsui watched him intently, still wondering what the rest of the story was. It didn’t truly matter. What mattered was that Jushiro was chronically ill , and he wanted to do everything he could to help him. If that meant sitting at his bedside every time his sickness reared its ugly head, so be it. If there was  _ nothing  _ else he could do, he would do that. 

* * *

Jushiro woke sometime in the night, his lungs tightening as soon as he tried to take a deep breath. He swallowed the cough that threatened, not wanting to alert the household at this hour. As he lay there, allowing himself to fully wake , he realized something was in his hand. When he squeezed lightly, he felt… someone else’s hand. He turned his head, finding that he didn’t have the strength to sit up, and found Shunsui in a chair next to his bed, his head leaning against the wall behind him and his mouth hanging open slightly. He wondered why Shunsui had found it necessary to hold his hand, but he didn’t let it bother him. It was actually a comfort to not wake up alone when he felt so horrid. Suddenly , reflex took over, and he was bombarded by rough, wet coughs that rattled his body. 

Shunsui jerked awake, immediately shifting to sit on the edge of the bed and pulling Jushiro up into a sitting position, pulling him into his arms and allowing him to cough into his shoulder. He felt Jushiro trying to push away from him, but he only held him tighter. 

“I don’t ever want to leave, Jushiro,” Shunsui whispered in his ear as his coughing subsided. Jushiro’s eyes widened and every muscle in his body tensed. 

“What? I don’t think you understand--”

“I don’t need to. You can tell me when you get better. Right now, all I care about is being here for you,” Shunsui interrupted. He felt Jushiro relax a bit and sigh. 

“I’m sorry. I got blood on your clothes,”  Jushiro said quietly. Shunsui had to choke back a full laugh at the comment. 

“That’s what you’re worried about right now? Don’t you ever think about yourself?” he asked. Jushiro rested his forehead on Shunsui’s shoulder and closed his eyes. 

“I’ve never really had the chance. When my parents passed away several years ago, and even before that when their health began to decline, I had to support my brothers and sisters essentially by myself. Though some of them were old enough to take care of themselves, I couldn’t stop from putting all of them before myself,” he replied. Shunsui tightened his arms around him, still careful of his fragile state. 

“Well, from now on, I’m putting you before myself. So then at least someone is taking care of you if you won’t take care of yourself,” Shunsui insisted. 

“I… I could never ask you to do that,” Jushiro muttered. He didn’t dare move. Didn’t dare look into the other man’s eyes. He had no idea what he would find. What was this? Friendship? Something more? What did  _ Shunsui  _ think was happening between them?

“Well, you don’t have to ask, because I’m going to do it anyway,” Shunsui said in response to his last statement. Jushiro only leaned further into Shunsui’s arms, and he was invited in, pressed against his warm body willingly. He felt childish, wanting to be held like this, but it was such a comfort knowing that Shunsui wasn’t put off by his sickness. 

“I was afraid that if you were ever with me when this happened, you wouldn’t want to be around anymore,” Jushiro admitted. Shunsui smiled and buried his hand in Jushiro’s hair, holding him against him protectively. A light chuckle escaped his lips when his heart skipped. 

“ I wouldn’t leave you like this. Actually, I’m starting to think I wouldn’t want to leave you anyway,” he spoke quietly, not wanting to ruin the peace in the room. Jushiro turned to nuzzle his cheek into Shunsui’s shoulder, his nose pressed against his neck. A light sigh struck Shunsui’s skin. 

“I don’t mind that. But I do want to know where you think this is going,” Jushiro requested. Shunsui dropped his hand from Jushiro’s head only to bring it to his chin, pulling his eyes up to study his face in the dimness of the room. 

“I’m not sure myself. All I know is that I don’t want to be far from you for long, and that’s been going on for a while . So, can we figure it out together?” he asked with a smile. Jushiro returned his grin and nodded. 

“Of course.” 

* * *

It was days before Jushiro fully recovered, and Shunsui went back to Ugendo every spare moment he had between and after classes. He was greatly relieved on the fourth day. When he entered Jushiro’s room, he found him sitting up, sipping a cup of tea. He had changed into fresh clothes, and the window was open, letting in a temperate breeze and allowing a full view of the gardens. Just the serene image of the white-haired man staring outside with a calm expression, seemingly free of any discomfort or illness, made Shunsui ’s heart stumble a bit. He had to admit, Jushiro was beautiful. 

“I believe tomorrow I’ll be able to return to class,” Jushiro announced as soon as Shunsui sat down on the edge of the bed.

“That’s great! So, you’re feeling alright today?” Shunsui asked. Jushiro nodded, taking one hand from his cup and twining his fingers between Shunsui’s. It had become a normal occurrence. Since the first night of his illness, Jushiro realized that the contact comforted him, and it certainly didn’t seem to bother Shunsui. They spent the day as usual, talking and laughing as they would any other day. When the sun began to set, though, Shunsui fell oddly silent, his eyes to the vibrant scene outside the window. 

“Shunsui? Is everything alright?” Jushiro whispered. Shunsui hurriedly brought his gaze back to his friend, forcing a smile. Jushiro ’s brow furrowed with concern at the obviously feigned expression. 

“I’ll have to go soon. Can I… can I kiss you good night?” Shunsui requested quietly. He felt Jushiro’s hand tighten on his, but he was encouraged by the fact that he didn’t withdraw. He bit his lip to keep from laughing when an endearing blush spread on Jushiro’s cheeks. 

“Yeah, I don’t see what harm it could do,” Jushiro finally replied. “Funny, you’ve never been so nervous to kiss someone before,” he teased when he felt Shunsui’s hand shaking. Shunsui let out a timid chuckle. 

“Hey, don’t rub it in,” he shot back. Jushiro smiled, and the gentleness in his eyes calmed Shunsui a bit. He shifted to face him, hesitating a bit before deciding to just take the plunge.  When their lips met, Shunsui couldn’t help but hum a bit in contentment. It was the strongest feeling of belonging he had ever felt. Something about Jushiro’s mouth against his just felt  _ right _ . 

Jushiro was the first to move after contact was made, bringing a hand up to pull his fingers through Shunsui’s hair and tilting his head to deepen the kiss. The peace this man brought him was something he had never experienced before. Even amidst illness, he was there with absolutely no reservations. If anything, Jushiro had every reason to believe it only  caused Shunsui’s feelings toward him to deepen. His protectiveness was welcome, and knowing he had someone to lean on was all he ever wanted. Finally, he pulled away,  moving his hand from within Shunsui’s hair to his cheek. 

“I’m glad you’re here for me. Thank you,” he whispered. Shunsui smiled.

“I’m glad you let me be here, because there’s nowhere else I want to be.”


End file.
